Chapter fourteen
I was wet, huffing, and very angry when I entered the house and slammed the living room door, almost ripping it off its hinges.
“My child, what happened?” Grandma rolled over on the sofa to look at me.
“When someone asks me out, you won't let me accept.”
“Why not?”
“It was a terrible idea.”
“What happened?”
“I need to take a shower.” I went into the hallway. My grandmother was left without an answer, but I wasn't willing to talk about it at the moment. If I got too angry, I could end up saying something that would surprise the only important person in my life.
I went into the bathroom, threw my wet clothes on the floor, and got into the shower. Even the hot water wasn't enough to dampen my spirits. How could two such beautiful, kind, and intelligent twins be the fruit of that asshole's sperm?
I still couldn't believe what had happened just a few minutes ago in that car that extolled the guy's extravagance. After saving me from the drunken Julius, I was beginning to think that Thomas Lennox wasn't the idiot I'd seen him to be, but then he ruined everything as quickly as possible.
What could he have imagined that he would ask me how much I wanted? I was a nursery school teacher, not a prostitute. Thomas, even thinking about it made me very angry.
That terrible incident was a great reminder to stay away from men. I hadn't made a mistake in devoting myself exclusively to children. They did deserve my love and attention.
After my shower, I went to my room, put on my pajamas, and threw myself on the bed. My bag was wet, so I reached for my cell phone to get it out.
There were several messages from Jennifer that I didn't want to answer.
Jennifer:
Where are you?
I've looked everywhere.
Julius said you'd left.
I can't believe he escaped without even saying goodbye.
Helena:
Your drunk friend almost kissed me by force.
Jennifer:
Who's Julius? Julius?
Helena:
Himself.
Jennifer:
I didn't know. Are you all right?
Helena:
I am now.
Jennifer:
Where did he go?
Helena:
I'm home now.
Jennifer:
Friend, I'm sorry about that.
Helena:
Let it go.
Jennifer:
Do you want me to go with you to the police or something?
Helena:
You don't have to. Nothing really happened. I'm fine now.
Jennifer:
Are you sure?
Helena:
I do.
I stared at my cell phone, sure that I was telling a lie, but I wasn't going to go into details, especially since my imbalance no longer had to do with Julius but with everything that had happened since.
Helena:
I just need to sleep now.
Jennifer:
If you need anything, just let me know.
Helena:
Thank you.
I threw my cell phone aside and stopped messaging her.
I closed my eyes, but soon regretted it, as my mind was filled with images of Thomas Lennox. The more I tried not to think about him, the more intensely the images seemed to be driven towards my mind.
Cretin, idiot, asshole...
“Helena?”
I stood up when I heard a knock on the door from my grandmother and found her standing in the hallway, holding a simple sandwich with a few slices of salami, cheese, lettuce and tomato.
“I thought you might be hungry.”
“Oh, Grandma, you needn't have bothered.”
“Of course, I needed it.”
“You've looked after me so much.”
“It's not like you haven't done everything in return.”
I smiled at her and accepted the plate from her hands.
“What do you say we go into the living room and watch a movie?”
“Grandma...”
“It's Saturday. You can sleep late tomorrow.”
“You're right.” I gave a half-smile and let her put her hand on my shoulder to guide me.
We stayed together, but my grandmother didn't insist on knowing what had happened. She knew me well enough to know that if I wanted to, at some point, I would open up, but this wasn't it. I just wanted to forget that bad night.